The Thomas Fire left a trail of devastation in Matilija Canyon north of Ojai in its early days. 
Highway 33 is surrounded on both sides by flames and embers Friday evening as the Thomas Fire burns in the upper Wheeler Canyon area north of Ojai. 
Charred vehicles and other belongings are scattered after the Thomas Fire burned through Matilija Canyon. 
The ruins of a home are visible when looking down Matilija Canyon. 
Flames burn through roadside vegetation Friday evening along Highway 33 in the upper Wheeler Canyon area. 
A hillside is covered in embers Friday evening along Highway 33. 
Towering flames erupt from a hillside in the upper Wheeler Canyon area Friday as the Thomas Fire burns through the area. 
Charred vegetation and downed utility poles line both sides of Matilija Canyon Road.
The Thomas Fire has left a trail of devastation in Matilija Canyon north of Ojai, destroying numerous homes and vehicles as the blaze continued burning primarily to the north and west.
The fire had blackened an estimated 148,000 acres as of Saturday morning and was 15-percent contained on the sixth day of a massive firefighting effort that has been hampered by gusty winds and rugged terrain.
The lower part of Matilija Canyon was essentially burned out overnight, leaving a ghostly landscape littered with charred dwellings, vehicles and debris.
Flames also were kicking up Friday afternoon along Highway 33 in the area of Rose Valley Road, with firefighters pulling back to defensive positions for safety reasons.
Fire officials explained that with lighter winds Friday, the fire transitioned from being wind-driven to being fuels-driven.
Similar conditions were expected Friday night into Saturday, with stronger Santa Ana winds forecast for Saturday night and Sunday.
There were reports of heavy fire activity north of Fillmore, where the flames reportedly raced across Santa Paula Canyon and headed towards Sespe Creek and the Santa Clara River.
Several small flare-ups were reported Friday morning along Highway 101 west of Ventura, but all were quickly knocked down.
A fleet of aircraft — both fixed-wing and helicopters — hit the fire hard on Friday, and will continue to be utilized as conditions allow. One of those planes was a 747 VLAT (Very Large Air Tanker) that can deliver huge loads of fire retardant on each run.
The main area of containment thus far is along the southern flank of the blaze, from Santa Paula to Ventura.
On Saturday morning, the fire's behavior allowed Santa Barbara County officials to ease the mandatory and voluntary evacuation orders for the Carpinteria Valley areas.
Residents will be allowed into the Shepherd Mesa and Gobernador Canyon area after the mandatory evacuation order has been changed to a voluntary evacuation.
All areas south of Highway 192, including the city of Carpinteria, are no longer under any evacuation status, officials said.
The voluntary evacuation, or warning, area stretches from north of Highway 192 to East Camino Cielo, east of Toro Canyon Road to the county line.
However, the Rincon Point area remains in a mandatory evacuation order, officials said.
The county issued an interactive map of evacuation areas Friday and updates are posted here.
On a positive note, hundreds of residents in Ventura County were given the OK to return to their homes:
» All mandatory and voluntary evacuation orders have been lifted in the city of Ventura, with the exception of the area north of West Main Street and east of Highway 33, commonly known as “Ventura Avenue,” and all neighborhoods north of Poli Street and Foothill Road in the city of Ventura.
» All mandatory evacuation orders have been lifted in the city of Santa Paula, for the areas north of Highway 126 from the west end of the city of Santa Paula east to Willard Road and north to Bridge Road.
» All mandatory evacuation orders have been lifted for the unincorporated areas north of Foothill Road from the city of Santa Paula to the city of Ventura.
In addition, the city of Ventura announced late Friday night that it was modifiying the curfew order that had been in place since Tuesday night.
The curfew has been lifted in all areas with the exception of the area north of Foothill Road between Kimball Road on the east and Day Road on the west, which includes the Clear Point, Skyline, Hidden Valley and Ondulando neighborhoods.
Because these areas are part of the mandatory evacuation zone, the curfew will be in effect 24 hours a day until further notice.
Also, on Saturday and Sunday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., residents evacuated from their homes will be allowed temporary access, via escorts, to their homes to obtains medicine and other personal items. A check-in tent will be set up in the parking lot of Temple Beth Torah located at 7620 Foothill Road.
Click here for details on the access program.
The city of Carpinteria postponed its Holiday Spirit Parade, planned for Saturday, because of the fire and hopes to hold it next weekend.
Also canceled were the Goleta Old Town Christmas Parade, the Milpas Community Association parade, and Santa Barbara's Parade of Lights harbor event this weekend.
Public agencies and Direct Relief have been handing out free face masks because of the smoke-clogged air on the South Coast, which recorded “very unhealthy” and “hazardous” levels of particulates Thursday.
The air quality warning was extended through the weekend, and will stay in effect until conditions improve, officials said.
Click here to check daily air quality levels on the Air Pollution Control District site.
All southern Santa Barbara County schools canceled classes Thursday and Friday, including K-12 campuses, UC Santa Barbara, Westmont College and Santa Barbara City College.
The city of Santa Barbara canceled its Friday trash pickup for residential and commercial customers, expecting to push it to Saturday or later depending on air quality issues and worker safety concerns.
MarBorg Industries closed its recycling centers and the county closed its South Coast Recycling and Transfer Station, and limited access to Tajiguas Landfill.
Santa Barbara County declared a local emergency Friday, which helps the county get state and federal reimbursement for emergency response costs.
Gov. Jerry Brown has declared a state of emergency for Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, and President Donald Trump proclaimed a presidential declaration of emergency for Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, Riverside and San Diego counties because of wildfires, the county said Friday.
Fire crews continued flowing in from all over California and out of state, since there are so many fires burning in Southern California at the same time.
More than 400 structures were destroyed by the Thomas Fire at last count, and 73 of them were residential buildings, according to CalFire.
Incident command officials said Thursday night that they may start “re-populating” the city of Ventura on Friday, which had major evacuations in the early days of the blaze.
There was a boil water advisory in effect for the Casitas Municipal Water District service area, including the Upper Ojai Valley, Casitas Springs, Foster Park and part of Ventura. Water quality issues from the fire and power outages made the district advise people to use boiled tap water or bottled water for drinking and cooking.
Noozhawk outdoors writer Ray Ford reported from the scene.
— Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at tbolton@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.